Scaruffle

Here is the scarf-ruffle I made for Rushan (the newly wed).  After blocking, this lacy number came out pretty nice!  I mailed it to Rushan last weekend; yesterday she sent an email thanking me.  I hope she likes it!

The pattern is from Clara Parkes' "The Book of Wool."  I used a lace-weight yarn of unknown fiber and source that I got from someone's destash.

And now the sun is setting earlier, my walks with Moose usually end with this view of Oracle (see the moon?). I am thankful to live in this town!  (Picture taken from my phone, the HTC Incredible*)

And of course, here is the little Moose with a rawhide bone almost as long as he.

* HTC Incredible - A non-Apple phone that I can actually call people on without having connection problems!

Friend

I have a friend who I'll call Preety.  I've known Preety for a long time and I've always felt she's a special person.  Well, I found out today she's going through hard times with her marriage.  Her husband doesn't want to try to make things better, but she is still fighting to hang on.  And to add to the tangle, baby #2 is in the "oven".

She loves her son, and she loves her husband.  And she is saddened by the state of things.  She keeps saying "if only I can do the right thing, then everything will be all right."  But she doesn't see that she is only 1/2 the partnership and it is not her job to do everything.  When two people agree to meet somewhere, they both have to come forward towards the middle.  One person can make all the effort and go as far as he/she can, but if the other person doesn't budge, then the meeting won't ever happen.

I'm saddened by her sadness.  And at the same time, thinking about her situation makes me appreciate what I have.  Tim is a good husband and he *does* want to work the kinks out.  Our values and world-view pretty much align.  It's a good marriage by all measures and I do take things for granted sometimes.

I am sad for my friend; I hope she comes to peace with her husband and herself.

Ingenue

Finally, a month after the knitting was done, I blocked the thing and took pictures. In a knitter's mind, that's when a project is Done.

Here it is: Ingenue for Tim's mom

She picked the yarn (good old Cascade 220) and the color (#9442).  Last time Tim and I visited her, we went to Alpaca Direct, the only yarn shop in Brentwood.  The little store had a pretty good selection of yarns; I came out with not only Cascade 220, but also some Plymouth Baby Alpaca chunky.  Mmmmm!  So soft!

Here is the sweater on the blocking board.  The edges are *not* suppose to be curly! (Arg!)

Update

It's been so long since I last posted!  In the past few weeks I finished a sweater for Tim's mom and a scarf for my friend Rushan.  No pictures yet since I still need to block the 2 pieces.  Tim says he will get me a dedicated "blocking" bucket for my knitting (thanks Hon!).  I can't wait since it'll make the job much easier compared to using the bathtub!

It's also been a busy month for us!  My friend Rushan (for whom I made the scarf) got married.  Her husband is French and I swear the entire French population showed up at the wedding.  I never knew there were so many French people in the Bay Area!

Here is the Bride and me at the shower:

And the Bride and Groom (aka Benoit)

Now the whole family!

(The little girl on the low left was just the cutest! She was so bubbly and full of laughs!)

Migraine

I was hit by the worst case of migraine yesterday.  The vomit-inducing beast reared its head right after lunch when I started seeing bright spots.  We were out and about, and I managed to get some chores done. As soon as we got home, however, I just died on the bed.  


For the  the rest of the day I was debilitated and whiny.  Thankfully Tim was so helpful; he took Moose out when I couldn't bear the thought of being vertical, and he got himself dinner (even though I knew how much he would have rather stayed at home).  


I went to bed around 9PM after attempting (unsuccessfully) to knit.  The nice thing is that Moose decided to join me in bed and keep me company!  =)  He's such a sweet puppy.


I feel better now after a long night's rest.  I am hoping and praying the monster stays away.  I don't get 
migraines often, but when I do it knocks me down like nothing else.  

Busy busy, just not busy with the things I'd rather be doing!

Work is busy busy busy. And nothing like agreeing to take on a contract job (outside of my regular job) to make things even busier.  But the amazing thing is that I seem to be getting more done.  Pressure = productivity?  Hum... I hope my boss doesn't' find out.

Grumpasaurus

I finished Neil's Grumpasaurus!  This was a fun but fiddly project; very cute once done.  I can imagine all sorts of different facial expressions and “hair” styles to put on this little guy!

Next up is the Ingenue sweater for Tim's mom.

My family

My Mom, her husband Hans, my brother, his wife Jen and I all got together yesterday for dinner.  I gave my mom the shawl and, guess what, she liked it! Here she is modeling it for me; I think my mom looks beautiful!

And here is my nephew at 15 months. What a ham!

p.s. All these pics were taken with my new HTC Incredible (you may call it the iPhone killer). =)  I can't begin to express my crush on Google.  I just love everything they do. 

62" x 25"

62" x 25" is the dimensions my mom's shawl. I hope she likes it!

And of course I have to add gratuitous pictures of the world's cutest Moose:

One of his favorite sleeping spots is in the crooks of our legs

Grumpy old Moose at the dinner table (he must take after Tim)

One day

One day I will have so much money that I won't have to work. I'll have so much that I can....(sigh)...an email just popped up.  Back to the grind.